Can I make crab cakes without fresh crabmeat?

[crankin]

My grocery store does not carry fresh crab. Would it be better to use canned crabmeat or imitation crabmeat that is in the refridgerated section of the seafood department?

[Andy M.]

It's hard to get fresh crab in some parts of the country.

Canned lump crab is kept in the refrigerated section and will make fine cakes. The stuff in the aisle next to the canned tuna - not so good.

If your market does not carry the canned refrigerated crab, check another market, Costco or BJ's.

[YT2095]

actually I`ve never made crab cakes with fresh crab, I`ve always used the tinned, You`ll be just fine :)

[QSis]

Check out this thread. Where should I look for claw crabmeat?

The Hearty Boys' recipe was EXCELLENT!

Lee

[BreezyCooking]

I cook with all different kinds of crabmeat, & here's my take on what's available here.

1) Pasteurized lump crabmeat & pasteurized claw crabmeat: these both come from Blue-Claw crabs & are sold in plastic tubs/containers either refrigerated or on ice in or near the seafood counter of your supermarket. Make terrific crabcakes & anything/everything else you want to do with crabmeat. Pricey, but worth it.

2) Canned crabmeat. While this also comes from Blue-claws, it's quality is lower than the refrigerated stuff as it comes from what's leftover after the lump & claw meat has been removed by the pickers. Very soft, fine-textured, & sometimes a bit salty. I often use this when making a crab dip or spread, or for stuffing shrimp or flounder etc.

3) Imitation crabmeat - aka surimi. I use this in salads & stirfries mostly. While there's nothing stopping you from using it to make a "crabcake", you're really making a "fish cake". Again - absolutely nothing wrong with that; it just won't be the same as a real crabcake.

[GotGarlic]

Hi, Breezy. I was wondering if there is a difference between blue-claw crabs and blue crabs - looks like they're the same thing: Blue Crab Facts

Does the name blue-claw refer to the males? They have blue claws, while the females have pink claws.

[ArgosGrill]

Crabcakes from canned crabmeat can be really good or really bad. You need to get good crabmeat. The best canned meat will be “jumbo lump meat “or just “lump meat”. Avoid “white crabmeat” and never get “pink crab meat”. The jumbo lump and lump from starkist and geisha are both really good. Geisha also has snow crab meat but the jumbo lump or lump meat will make the better crabcakes.

[keltin]

Originally Posted by GotGarlic

Hi, Breezy. I was wondering if there is a difference between blue-claw crabs and blue crabs - looks like they're the same thing: Blue Crab Facts

Does the name blue-claw refer to the males? They have blue claws, while the females have pink claws.

Both the male and female are simply known as “Blue Crabs”. Their legs, eyestalks, claws, and sometime bellies are tinted blue in spots while the carapace is typically a brownish green color.......until you boil ‘em that is.

The females have a reddish or pinkish tint to the tips of their claws as if they have painted their nails (easy way to determine the sex of the crab).

[auntdot]

Now live in VA, not all that far from Breezy, and she is right about what is available in this area.

The preparation of crab cakes almost reaches to the level of religion here, there are as many recipes for them as there are stars in the sky.

Have lived all over this country and what is available in the middle of the US is often quite different that what we get in crab country.

I am excluding the West coast here, they have their own great crabs.

What crankin calls canned crab meat, heck, I don't know what it is. But have found some fairly lousy canned crabmeat in places far removed from the sea.

Would suggest you buy a can and try it. Make some mini crab cakes. Serve on a Friday night with some wine. If yo like it, well, then you have your answer.

If you don't, well have another glass of wine.

As for the surimi, have always thought about what a cake with it might be made with it.

Gotta try it one of these days.

Think you could make a pretty tasty product with it.

But to me there will never be a better crab cake than one prepared with true crab, lump meat.

But we are lucky enough to live in that part of the country.

Of course, we do not get all the wonderful bounty of other areas of the country.

Ya gotta live with what is available.

So it goes.

[BreezyCooking]

"Blue Crab" & "Blue-Claw Crab" are the same thing. It's just a matter of semantics depending on where you grew up. For me, that was Long Island, NY, where we spent nearly every summer weekend crabbing (with both box traps & lines with chicken backs) on the south shore. My relatives always called them "Blue-Claws", but other folks call them "Blue Crabs", & overseas they're also known as "Blue Swimmers".